Ed, I would strongly suggest that ercoupers;with and without pedals, spend a few hours flying touch and goes in a Piper short wing PA17 Vagabond Cub or PA15 with duals. They are quite similar to ercoupes in the sink rate and feel, but the Vag's big difference is in the freedom and ability to really feel that you have a lot of control especially with that large rudder. My lowest approach speed in warm weather here [ elev. 2500 ft ] is 67mph with the Vag. Below that and the sink rate can get scary on short finals as in a ercoupe. Coming down final at 67 mph still allows full control of the Vag. With it, a sharp Base to Final is well under control but I always have preferred a more circular Base to Final especially in gusty winds, just in case I get distracted. The two types, Vag and coupe, feel much the same with rudder pedals. The Vag still handles the same as the J3 which comes down final at 60 mph but it is the Vag that handles most like an ercoupe. I have always preferred the pedals. The empty wt. of my PA17 Vagabond is 650 lbs, gross is 1150. Stall is 45mph. That makes it a Canadian Ultralight legally. I had rebuilt my Vagabond Cub back in Montreal in 1982, flew it here in 1983 and still have it. I will do another complete rebuild again in a year or so soon as there is room in the my small workshop. Ron Hynes, Alberta, Western Canada --- On Thu, 12/31/09, Ed Burkhead <[email protected]> wrote:
From: Ed Burkhead <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] I stand corrected... was pedals To: [email protected] Received: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 7:08 AM Ron wrote: > I guess even with rudder pedals, you could ignore them, and > land 'Coupe normal... But, wait a minnit! You put rudder > pedals in to ... so you ignore them when... maybe I'm > confused? ;-) > > (Aww, c'mon guys, I'm just yanking yer chain! -er, nose > gear cable?) Yep, you just ignore those pedal thingies if you've got them - EXCEPT, you have to push on them all the time to do your best to match what the automatic linkage does! Seriously, the pedals do have three real uses: 1. They let a student learn about pedals and get an unrestricted license. 2. They let you steepen your glide slope moderately without the gyrations of low-airspeed- high-sink followed by nose down to get the airspeed back for the flare. Though, the gyrations of cross controlled flight are themselves pretty unsettling to passengers who haven't had explanations and warnings in advance. As a corollary to #2, you do get to land wing low, airframe lined up with the runway at crosswinds up to about 15 mph and this saves marginally on tire wear. (Has anybody WORN OUT their tires on a Coupe? I only had to replace mine due to age.) 3. You can hold and fold your maps with two hands, keeping your direction and level using the pedals only. A corollary to #3: if you have a real control system jam up, you can fly the plane with the throttle and rudder pedals only. This is rare to the point of "you've got to be kidding" as long as normal, good maintenance is done. If I am able to get a Coupe again, I think I'll prefer a no-pedals plane. But, I won't turn down a nice one that does have the pedals. Ed __________________________________________________________________ Ask a question on any topic and get answers from real people. Go to Yahoo! Answers and share what you know at http://ca.answers.yahoo.com
